Music Of The Living Dead
by ImmolationPiggieOfDoom
Summary: Sarah, a depressed young teenage girl, attempts to take her own life. When someone unknowingly interrupts, she fires the gun on reflex. Instead of Heaven or Hell though, she ends up in a certain Holiday town, to teach her a lesson on life. On hiatus for major editing, possible total rewrite, and possible death if deemed unsalvageable. Apologies.
1. The Music

Sarah took in a quaking breath. This was it. She was in her room, all the lights were off, her music was especially loud.

That way, no one would hear the gunshot.

She glanced around the gray walls and drab furniture for the last time. Her eyes caught the mirror. She wondered what her mother would have seen. _She would see a beautiful girl, someone who would make a place for themselves in the world._ _She would have been seeing a lie._Sarah saw a pale girl, with brown locks, dark eyes, and depressing clothing. Someone who was too pathetic to live. That's what everyone told her. Her eyes clouded over slightly as she thought about everything that she had been through.

"_You're such a failure."_

"_Why do you even come to school? It's not like you'll learn anything. You're too stupid to even speak!"_

"_Come on! Cry already! Cry like the baby you are!" Sarah didn't make a sound as she was kicked harshly over and over in the ribs._

"_Forget it. Leave the freak. Maybe we'll get lucky and somebody will finish her for us."_

"_Freak!"_

"_Idiot!"_

"_You're not even human! No normal person would look as disgusting as you!"_

The image in the mirror shifted. She saw the monster everyone had described. She saw something that wasn't human. It was disgusting, worthless. Un-deserving of even the oxygen keeping it alive. Better people than her could use that air. She took a steadying breath as she looked away from the mirror. She lifted the gun to her head. She was ready. She was going to do this. She had suffered long enough. Her hand tightened in preparation to pull the trigger. Suddenly though, the door opened. Her eyes fluttered open and she looked to see who the intruder was.

"Sarah it's time for -"

"D-Dad?" She choked out as she lowered the gun. Her voice was soft and raspy, from underuse. She hadn't spoken for years, after all. She hadn't seen her father for years. But her hand squeezed involuntarily.

The gun fired.

Brown eyes widened as the bullet ripped through her side and her small body jerked through the air and fell to the floor. The gun met the floor with a dull thud as it landed beside her. Blood soaked slowly into the carpet and her clothing, staining everything it touched red. She heard her father screaming, yelling, perhaps even crying. She had never seen or heard him cry. Except that one time…that one time… But it was muffled. Covered with a veil of pain. She hurt, so bad, so much more than before. It seemed as though nothing would get through to her, nothing could penetrate the fog in her mind.

Her music did though.

Requiem For a Dream…one of her favorites. Her father had introduced it to her. She remembered when he was around, when they would search YouTube for music together. Before it happened. The song sounded sad…quiet. It would switch between sad, and desperate. It was almost apocalyptic. The way it was written, it was like you might have been watching everything you love get destroyed. You would weep when it was over, be filled with pain…but then it started all over again. The song was nowhere near over, but it began to fade from her hearing. It eased its way out, and the pain began to leave her too. Her breaths were coming shorter. She was losing precious oxygen; oxygen she had thought she didn't deserve mere moments ago. Her hands, which had been clinging to the rug desperately, trying to hold on while her mind couldn't, began to relax. Unclench. Sarah could barely see the silhouettes of frantic paramedics, all scrambling, trying to help her. But it was too late. She felt her self slip away, with the last of the music, and the last of the pain.

And then she died.

~X~X~X~X~

Falling. Falling, spiraling, sinking down, down, down. Into a darkness. Blacker than a void. A darkness that even the most fearsome of creatures shied away from. The only thing breaking the never-ending expanse is Sarah. She falls, but remains still. The blood covers her clothes still, and she does not breath. She is dead. But her soul is still living. The shadow she is surrounded in is silent, but for the music that fills her ears. She can hear it. But she does not know what it is. Maybe she would have recognized it at one point in time. Maybe not. But the music is gone, abruptly, as another presence enters the darkness, and speaks.

"You take your own life?" A voice, deep, booming, and as vast as the place she resides in echoes through her skull. "A life is something that you get only once. Something to be held dear, and close to your heart." Sarah's finger twitches. "You, a mere child, believed yourself knowledgeable enough to decide whether or not life is worth living." Her heart spared a few beats. "You were wrong in your decision." Her lungs expand as they are filled with air. "And you need a lesson." Her eyelids flutter silently. "You will learn how to truly live your life…in a world that is of the dead." She gasped, her heart suddenly racing, her eyes wide, and her chest rising and falling quickly. She had been given a second opportunity. And that was when the music returned. Loud, encompassing. Filling the blackness. Filling her up. For a moment, just a brief moment; she remembered what it was to be happy.

And then her body was slammed harshly into the hard, cold, unforgiving ground.

She lay, dazed, the world spinning around her. She was confused. No memories of her time in the darkness remained. Nothing but the music. But, she realized with a start, that was gone now too. Memories of her attempted suicide raced back toward her, crashing into her like a tidal wave. After having been supposedly dead, it was a shock to realize that she could feel again…feel her heartbeat. The densely packed ground. She could see the leafless trees above her. The sky, a deep navy blue, stares and a full moon twinkling back at her. But she could feel the pain too. She clutched desperately at her stomach and gasped. _ Am I alive, only to die again…? _ She was met with faint singing, so silent it was nearly inaudible. It grew louder, slowly…

"_Boys and girls of every age, wouldn't you like to see something strange?"_

"_Come with us,"_

"_And you will see!"_

"_This out town of Halloween!"_

And then her world was once again black.

~X~X~X~X~

Jack Skellington, the Pumpkin King of Halloween, was taking a walk through the Hinterlands. The gangly and skeletal undead gentleman was restless, and found himself without sleep. Feeling not at all tired, and full of energy, he had bounded away, taking no notion of where he was going. Jack wanted to think. Halloween was going to have to be absolutely horrific this year! He felt that same empty feeling deep in his bones. The one that had almost caused him to ruin Christmas a few years back. He slowed in his quick stride, and sighed to himself loudly.

"If I don't make this the absolute worst Halloween we've ever had, I don't know what I'll do! It seems like even _after_ that Christmas fiasco with Sandy Claws, Halloween isn't a horrendous as it used to be…" Jack sighed again. "There's never anything new, no inspiration, it it's almost as if we've run out of ideas. It's the same thing every year. Year after year…" He placed a bony hand to his round skull in defeat, leaning against a tree. "Will there even be a Halloween worth celebrating this time…?" He wondered aloud. Suddenly, a streak of red caught his eye. Curious, the skeleton straightened, and stealthier than a ghost, he crept toward it. His face lit up in wonder at what he had found. Before him lay a ghastly creature. Her hair was knotted in a mess, and her clothes ripped and torn, painted with her scarlet blood. Dirt mixed with the liquid to make an absolutely horrid bleak color, covering most of her pale skin.

"Amazing!" He gasped, leaning down close to her. It was only then that he realized something.

She was bleeding. Bleeding out of a deep wound in her stomach. And she was human. Jack, for the moment, put a stopper in his curiosity. He carefully lifted her up from the ground, and began a quick stride back towards the town. This girl was in need of help, and she needed it immediately.

"Doctor, I sure hope you know how to fix humans. But…at least, maybe this Halloween will be terrifying, after all."

**A/N-Ah, and so, I have finally edited the first chapter. The one I had up really was atrocious, but I thank any and all of you that enjoyed it. Know that I will be attempting to update more often, but, they will still most likely be fairly sporadic. There is now a list of my stories and when they may be updated on my profile. I will try to keep you all well informed of things that are going on. Thank you for reading, please tell me about any typos or things that could be improved upon in a review or PM. I would appreciate it greatly. **

**-Piggie**

**Embrace the Madness. It's all we have left.**


	2. Waking to A Nightmare

Waking to A Nightmare

Sarah could hear voices. Murmured comments, or perhaps even full out conversation. And there was music again.

"_Boys and girls of every age, wouldn't you like to see something Strange? Come with us and you will see…"_

The music in her ears slowly faded to nothing as the conversation around her became clearer.

"Thank you so much for this doctor, and you too Sally! I would like to stay and see how she recovers, but I really must be going! I've so many new ideas for this Halloween already!"

"Don't mention it Jack. We'll see to it that she gets better in no time."

"Thank you so much Sally. Well Doctor! I'm off!" A set of footsteps faded away. Then she heard some kind of electrical noise. A new voice spoke.

"Well Sally, I'll leave this girl in your care. I'll have to see how to get her back home…a difficult task. Perhaps if I…" The speaker was too far away for Sarah to hear anymore. She could barely make out soft steps making their way towards her. Sarah cracked her eyes open. She thought it was good she didn't speak, because then she definitely would have screamed. There was what could be described as a blue woman standing over her, but she was covered in stitches! It was almost like…like she was a put together doll. Sarah squeezed her eyes tightly shut after that. _What is she! _She thought in horror. Sally noticed the terror on the girl's face, signaling she was awake. Quickly putting down the medicine she was mixing, she knelt down next to the table the girl was on.

"Don't be afraid." She whispered softly. "I'm just fixing up that nasty wound in your stomach. I'm not going to hurt you. I'm trying to help you." Sally returned to her medicine, still glancing back at the girl from time to time.

Sarah opened her eyes slowly. She watched in a kind of dreadful fascination as the Doll-Woman made something in a very stereotype looking cauldron. Filling a spoon with some of the liquid, she made her way delicately over to Sarah. She bent down and put it near her mouth.

"Here you are!" She said cheerfully. "This will stop the hurting. And then, I think I'll whip up something to close up your wound a bit faster." Hesitantly, Sarah opened her mouth and allowed the doll to poor the liquid into her mouth. It tasted fowl, but she swallowed anyway. The woman began to add some more ingredients to her mix. "My name is Sally, by the way." The woman, now known to Sarah as Sally, explained. Sarah felt her body relax a bit more as the medicine did its job. She could feel the pain seeping away. "Do you have a name?" Sally asked softly, beginning to stir her concoction. Sarah could feel her body tense up again. _I have a name._ She thought sadly. _I don't think you'll ever learn it though. _She didn't quite remember the details of her death, though she knew it occurred, so she had no knowledge of the first word she had since she was 6.

Dad.

Sarah remained still as Sally looked over at her patient worriedly.

"I'm sorry." She said, perhaps quieter than before. "I didn't know someone couldn't have a name." Very, very slowly, Sarah shook her head no. Sally stared at her in confusion. "So…you do have a name?" She asked. Sarah shook her head yes, and then brought her hand to her mouth. Sally left her medicine to squat down next to the girl again. "I'm afraid I don't understand." She said slowly. Sarah brought her other hand to her mouth and covered it. But Sally still didn't know what was wrong. Sighing, she stood up again and tended the mixture before it spoiled. "I'm sorry, but I don't know what that means. I'll ask Dr. Finklestein, or maybe Jack about it later." Sarah lowered her hands and nodded. As Sally continued with her work in silence, Sarah was left to her thoughts. _So…so I'm dead huh? _She looked around at the nightmarish lab she was in. _This doesn't look like Heaven…it doesn't even look like Hell. Besides, would they be trying to fix me up if I was in Hell? So…so where am I? Wait! Dead people aren't supposed to be able to die…again…so…did I die or not? Where __**am**__ I? _Sarah was forced away from her thoughts when Sally approached with another spoonful of medicine.

"Here you go. You should be all better in a few hours. Well, mostly anyway. The doctor will probably still have to use something to heal you completely." Sarah doubted this, but accepted it anyway. Besides, who was she to question what was possible? She was fairly certain she had died, but she was now somehow in a lab with this blue, made of fabric, stitched together woman, who had already made her pain from the _gunshot_ wound in her _stomach_ preform a vanishing act. She really couldn't question anything. After downing the even more disgusting than the last medicine, Sarah felt her eyes get heavy. She closed them and let sleep take her.

Sally shut the door quietly behind her. The little girl was finally asleep. She sighed in relief. As she walked towards her tower, she thought about what could have been wrong.

"Why did she point to her mouth like that? Was there something wrong with it? Oh, I'm sure Jack would know. He is very knowledgeable." Sally yawned and stretched her arms. "I guess I'll ask him tomorrow…" She murmured. "It is getting late…"

~X~X~X~X~

Jack Skellington scribbled hurriedly on various sheets of paper at his desk. Shaking his head, he crumpled it in distaste, throwing it over his shoulder and pulling out a fresh sheet. It landed near a small trashcan, already overflowing with similar discarded ideas. Suddenly Jack's black sockets widened in inspiration. Throwing his gangly arms into the air in victory, he shouted,

"Of course! That's it! How could I have not seen it sooner!" Bringing his appendages back to the paper, his eyes narrowed in concentration as he drew with lightning speed. Standing up and lifting the completed image to the air with a flourish, a skeleton smile burst onto his face. "I'm sure of it! This will be the most terrifying, bone rattling, heart stopping, Horrifically Horrendous Halloween yet!"

~X~X~X~X~

Sarah awoke the next morning, feeling better than ever. She sat up slowly, not even feeling any pain. There was a slight itching in her stomach though… She glanced down, and wished she could have screamed. There was the same blue material that woman was made of patching two sides of her stomach. Large, messy stitches connected it to her body. She heard an electric noise and a voice spoke up beside her.

"I'm afraid I had to use some of my material to fix you up there missy. Normally I wouldn't do this, but there was no other way I could save you. What happened to you girl?" Sarah looked to the…creature beside her and wished to scream again. It was a pale grey green-blue colour, and was in a wheelchair. He wore a lab coat and currently…his skull was unhinged as he rubbed and scratched his brain, before closing it again. She shivered slightly, but once again pointed to her mouth. _Be brave Sarah…it's not going to hurt you. Just like Sally didn't hurt you, whoever found you helped you too, so obviously these are good…people._ He just stared at her.

"What? Aren't you going to answer me?" Sarah shook her head. She opened her mouth, pointing inside, and shaking her head no again. It looked like he finally understood. "Ah…so you can't speak eh? Sally was telling me something like that… Well, I'll have someone get you a pencil and paper so we can figure out what happened. And why a human would end up in Halloween town…very strange…" _Halloween Town? I'm…in a place called Halloween town? Is that why everyone I've seen so far looks so frightening? And there's a whole town out there! Oh no…_

Sally walked in then.

"Did you need something Dr. Finklestein?"

"Ah yes my girl. Please go and get us something to write on, and to write with. It seems our guest here can't speak!" Sally understood what Sarah had been trying to say the day before immediately. She nodded.

"Of course! I'll be right back." Once Sally returned with the items, she gave them to Sarah. She took them hesitantly, but accepted the bone-pen and plain paper. The Doctor spoke again.

"Alright. Let's start with your name and how you got here. Shall we?" Sarah nodded. In curly letters, she began to write.

_My name is Sarah. I don't know HOW I got here, but I think I…died. I think I got shot. I don't really remember all that much. Am I even alive?_

She handed the paper to the Doctor. Once he read it, he once again opened his head to scratch his brain as he thought how to respond to this. Sally read it over his shoulder, giving Sarah a sympathetic look. She shied away from Sally's gaze.

"Well…you're not dead, that's for sure. Shot? That would explain your wound. But if you had died why are you alive now? Interesting…I'll have to do some research on this. I suppose you could stay here with Sally… would you mind that? Either of you?" Sarah shook her head no.

"Of course not Doctor!" Sally said. He began to wheel away.

"Dead…alive again…shot? But how?... Hmm, perhaps? No…" They could hear him mumbling all the way down the hall.

Sarah looked towards Sally and gave a small smile. Returning it, she held out her hand to help her up. Sarah took it, shaking.

_This is going to be really, really scary. I can tell already._

_~X~X~X~X~_

**Woo! Someone reviewed for me! I LURVES YOU! Reviews make me feel warm and fuzzy! :P Well, I hoped you enjoyed this slightly longer chapter, I'll work harder on the next one I promise. But I have a lot of other things going on…sorry if I get sidetracked. Hope you enjoyed, and review!**

**Embrace the Madness. It's all we have left.**


	3. Thoughts

Sarah woke up the next morning feeling refreshed. Sally had been extremely kind and given her the bed. Despite the foreboding appearance of everything, and _everyone _around her, a little bit of herself was relieved she hadn't died…even if she had woken up in a Nightmare. She sat up and glanced around the room cautiously. She still felt energized, but the feeling of safety soon vanished. It was dark, and it seemed some sort of…_goop_…was dripping down a few of the walls. There was a large window, which she walked to, uncovering herself from the thin and torn blanket, to investigate. She looked out the window carefully, for some reason not liking the idea of falling, as though it were a bad experience before. She saw a mangled gate leading up to the grey building she was in. What caused her to go scrambling backwards though, were the citizens. She saw many a terrifying thing, in less than even a minute. Werewolves, Vampires, a man walking around with an axe sticking out of his head! When she had finally caught her breath, she did her best to forget about the window and instead studied the rest of the room. The doors both frightened and reassured her a bit, for they were absolutely huge and metal, adorned with many almost cruel looking locks. She felt that little itching in her stomach again, and cautiously lifted up her shirt, just enough to see the wound and the blue cloth held over it with those horrible, messy stiches. She gulped. _I don't think I can ever get used to that being there._ _I feel…I feel like I'm going to be sick… _Sarah dropped her shirt, a hand covering her mouth. The feeling of nausea intensified when she saw that her cloths were still quite bloody as well. _My blood… _She thought. _That's my blood… _She felt the bile rising in her throat before she let it out all over the floor. Sarah had never cut her wrists, though she had thought about it more than she would care to admit. The mere sight of blood made her nauseous, and combined with all that had happened to her, all that she had seen, and in such a short time, it was no wonder she threw up. Anyone under so much pressure, and in so much fear and confusion, couldn't help but suffer _some_ unpleasant side-effects.

Sarah looked around the room once she had thoroughly emptied the contents of her stomach, searching for some sort of cleaning supplies. She found them pushed in a corner by the door, and hurried over. Grabbing a spookier version of some paper towels, she wiped all the blood and puke off of herself that she could. She then grabbed a knurled looking mop, and clutching her stomach again, set to work on cleaning up her regurgitated food. When she was done, she decided it would be best not to do anything else, and to just lie in the bed provided, not even thinking. If she thought then she would dwell on the terrifying situation she was in, and she would worry about the things she had thought didn't matter when she was getting ready to pull that trigger. Her father, where ever they he was, on his business trips and attending those conferences, supporting his only child. He would be heart broken, a voice inside of Sarah said. He would cry and weep, praying to the God he had never believed in to bring his daughter back. But another part of her argued that someone can't care about another person, when they spend all their time away from them, without even a fleeting thought spared for someone who desperately needed their love. Sarah lay down on the mattress, and covered herself with the thin sheets. She thought about the offers of friendship she had turned down, how cold she had been to everyone. How disappointed her mother would be.

It was this realization that allowed tears to flow once again, cutting trenches in the leftover dirt caked on her face. She cried herself to sleep, and hoped to wake up to something happy. As her consciousness faded, she heard whispered words, as though it were booming loud around her, but so soft she could hardly hear it.

"…_this our town of Halloween. This is Halloween! This is Halloween!..."_

**Okay, this was originally a lot longer, but Word deleted all of the awesome work I had done. I'm attempting to update everything tonight, so You'll have to live with this. Apologies. Thanks to reviewers and the lovely advice they've given, please send more! Adieu.**


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